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Marsha, a place to think about might be Pueblo. Housing is cheaper, we are definitely more liberal. There seems to be a touch of 80's nostalgia left for me, the drive-in, skating rink for the kids. Nice size zoo, riverwalk. It's about 2 hours to Golden from Pueblo, so the drive isn't too bad. Plus, Colorado Springs is right up the road.

As to OP's question. Have you considered Manitou Springs? Manitou is due west of the Colorado Springs city limits and is a liberal island in otherwise conservative Colorado Springs. Housing prices there are no worse than some of the nicer neighborhoods in the Springs, and Manitou somehow manages to retain a certain small town feel despite being on the busy Front Range. The people in Manitou are very friendly, and you and your yoga classes would fit right in. If you get tired of being like everyone else in Manitou, Focus on the Family on the north end of the Springs is a mere 20 - 25 minutes away and the culture shock is immedient.

Manitou also tends to be a bit cooler than the Springs, also. I too am very sensitive to heat, and when I lived in Manitou I still needed a room air conditioner to cool off on the hottest days during the summer. However, there's no comparison with a summer in Dallas. I've visited Dallas and other parts of Texas, and the heat and humidity there are killer to a person like me. Congratulations on having survived there all this time!

Follow your intuition and visit different areas of Colorado to get a feel for the energy of the environment and people residing there. Every city has a distinctly different vibe that may or may not mesh with your lifestyle/beliefs.

Quoted from the online tool (Texas -- bolded for emphasis):
Texas property tax rates are more akin to those in New England or the Midwest than to rates for other
states in the South census region. Effective property tax rates on owner-occupied housing in Texas are
the sixth highest in the United States and well above the median rate for all states. Some of Texas’s high
reliance on the property tax is due to the fact that the state does not have a personal income tax (figure
TX-1).

Again, quoted from the online tool (Colorado):
The property tax is the most limited of all taxes in Colorado, restricted by both the TABOR and Gallagher
Amendments to the state constitution.

Another quote:
In response to rising values of residential property and a study by the Colorado Division of Property Tax
in connection with the 2017 statewide reassessment of property, the legislature lowered the residential
assessment ratio from 7.96 percent, where it has been since 2003, to 7.2 percent. This is equivalent to a
9.5 percent reduction in residential property taxes (Monzon 2017).

Summary: Texas ranks 6th in the list for "worst states for property taxes." New Jersey, Illinois, New Hampshire, Connecticut, and Wisconsin occupy positions ##1-5.

Colorado ranks 8th in the list for "best states for property taxes." Hawaii, Alabama, Lousiana, Delaware, Washington D.C., South Carolina, and West Virginia occupy positions ##1-7.

That is already a fairly stark contrast when Texas vs. Colorado property taxes are compared. Yes, Colorado has a state income tax (a flat 4.63% of your federal taxable income), and that has to be taken into account when comparing the overall tax burden of states.

My experience is that the overall tax burden in Texas is higher than Colorado, and it is not close call. And as mentioned above, Colorado lowered the residential assessment ratio in 2017 from 7.96% to 7.2%. That would never, and I mean never happen in Texas.

A lot of what comes to mind here might apply mainly to Denver metro, since that's what I'm most familiar with; also, "cons" can be a subjective thing so this is a mix of personal and what I've noticed others consider cons:

- Not a con personally, but some people don't seem to tolerate the changing weather and large temperature fluctuations too well. A lot of people also complain about the cold. If you are anything like me, I just get sick of the complaining. I am originally from the northeast and can't even tolerate their summers (which are closer to mid-80s and humid for 4 months than 100 and humid for 6).

- I think due to transplants and pop. growth, the laid-back-ness is not as much as it used to be, and there's a bit more of that big city aggressive feel in and around Denver. I lived here 10-11 years ago and that is something I have noticed, but it's subtle.

- I would say far-left is more Boulder; moderate left-to-center-to-libertarian is more Denver. (Either of those could be a con if you are more or less to the left than the general population.)

- Some areas not very bike or pedestrian friendly, even though they could be/there is room to develop the roads for it.

I lived in TX for 3 years....here 33. I love it here.
Cons..
-you don't have the sweet smelling flowers here you do in TX.
Sure, some lilacs for a week.
-Oh, you must use more lotion, drink more water, have some sort of humidity in your home esp in Winter.
-First yr your nose may be dry or crack, must use Vaseline or Vicks.
-Coloradans are friendly, but not like Texans....mainly because most here are transplants,
so not Coloradans!
Oooo, so bad.

That reddit map is tongue-in-cheek, but the depiction of SW CO people as mostly “left of center” is going to mislead some people in a big way. Durango is not SW CO, it is only one town in the area.

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